


Just Like Clay

by einherji



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 09:46:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8484637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/einherji/pseuds/einherji
Summary: Alex tries to teach Magnus pottery. Magnus is a flustered mess. Alex starts to realise his/her feelings for Magnus. Fun times ensue.





	1. Pottery

**Author's Note:**

> Author Notes:  
> [This is my first public fanfiction. Please be nice! (Constructive criticism is fine tho!).]

“Shit” Magnus muttered “Shit, shit, shit.” His face burned bright red as Alex Fierro gently slipped his hands over Magnus’s. He ducked his head down in an attempt to hide it. “I think you’ll need to look at the clay before you can make anything” Alex said in a mocking tone, positioning himself properly behind Magnus at the pottery wheel. Magnus laughed nervously. “I know. I’m not stupid.” He said, voice cracking. “Could’ve fooled me.” Alex replied, starting up the wheel.

Magnus sighed. He could no longer deny he was head-over-heels for Alex. He loved everything about him. He loved the way he always smelled like clay. He loved his eyes and the mischievous twinkle they took on. He even loved how fast Alex could turn from calm and collected in to a rage-fuelled, badass killing machine. Yep, he was definitely in love, and he had no clue what to do about it. Magnus shook himself back in to focus.

Alex’s hands began guiding his around the clay, sending a shiver up his spine. He decided to focus on the feeling of the pottery rather than the feeling of Alex behind him, trying to stop his heart from beating, what Magnus decided was, faster than humanly possible. “That’s it, just let your hands think for you.” Alex said softly. The sound of his voice was all it took for Magnus to get flustered again. His hands spasmed and went off course, taking at least half the clay with them. Magnus stumbled backwards, Alex toppling over with him. “Vitskertr” He mumbled to himself as he struggled to get up “S-sorry, Alex.” He shot up and backed away. Being an einherji, he was used to dying, but it was still painful. Alex sighed as he hefted himself up and dusted his clothes off. “It’s fine. It was your first time on the wheel. I made mistakes worse than that when I first started.” He spoke calmly. Magnus breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks for not killing me.” He said. “Oh, I’m going to kill you, just not now. Now get out, the feast’s about to begin and we both need to clean up.” As he said it Magnus realised how messy they both were, there was wet clay all over his hands, up his arms and down his shirt somehow. He looked up and saw Alex frantically trying to get clay out of his hair. There was a big smear down his face and a few splatters dotted across his lips. Magnus stopped himself before he could stare for too long, as Alex looked like he was getting impatient. “I’ll see you at dinner, then.” Magnus said, hurrying out the door.

As he stepped in to the hallway, he saw T.J and Mallory trying (and failing, very hard) to hide, pushing each other to get to the best spots. Unfortunately for them, there were no good spots, the hallway was bare. Mallory dived in to her room. T.J froze when he realized Magnus had seen him, smiling nervously and waving. Magnus turned to see Halfborn leaning against a wall, picking his teeth with his fingernail. “You guys were spying on us?” Magnus asked, gesturing to an obvious hole in the wall, which for some reason he hadn’t noticed before. Halfborn nodded and grinned. “I kicked the wall in” He said proudly. “How much did you see?” Magnus asked, his faced turning roughly the same shade as a ripe tomato. “All of it.” Halfborn said grinning wider. Magnus kicked him in the shin. “Meinfretr.” He mumbled. Halfborn just chuckled and patted Magnus on the back. “You were so smooth, Magnus, especially when you fell over.” He teased. “Shut up.” Magnus said, storming off in to his room. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to live this down.


	2. Twister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus doesn't know when someone is reciprocating. Magnus is dumb. Angsty stuff in the late night. (Sorry if this seems rushed, please point out mistakes in the comments!) ((Also sorry if this is short again D:))

Magnus didn’t want to face Alex after the incident earlier. Unfortunately for him, Alex was also currently the only one at their table. They sat in silence for what felt like hours, until Halfborn came bustling through, followed by Mallory and T.J, and broke the silence with a loud belch. “Hello, my friends! How are we on this fine evening?” He boomed, clapping Magnus and Alex on the back. Alex’s eye twitched. “I’m fine, Halfborn, how are you?” He asked through gritted teeth.

Magnus zoned out and started staring at Alex, the conversation became distant to him. He started absorbing every detail he could about Alex’s face, as he caught himself doing often. He’d been staring for a while, before Alex caught him. He frowned at Magnus, waving his hand in front of his face. “-Was just kidding, Magnus, I’m not actually going to kill you.” He said. Magnus shook himself back in to focus “W…Wha-?” He mumbled “What are you talking about?”. Mallory was snickering at him. He decided to ignore her. “You were staring at me, you looked worried.” Alex said “When I said- I didn’t actually mean- I’m sorry.” Magnus felt a weight lifted off his chest, at least Alex wasn’t mad with him anymore. “It’s fine, Alex, I was just zoning out.” He said. Alex nodded and resumed his conversation with Halfborn.

Magnus was glad when the feast finished, he was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get to bed. Yet, as he tossed and turned, he realized he wasn’t getting sleep any time soon. Eventually, he decided to get out of bed and do something to pass the time. “Insomnia” He grumbled “is a pain in the ass.” He lugged himself in to the hallway and made his way past each of his friends’ rooms. When he reached Alex’s room, he pressed his ear to the door. He could hear the whirr of a pottery wheel. He breathed a sigh of relief. Chances were, if Alex decided he didn’t want to entertain Magnus, he would kill him. Right now, Magnus thought being dead was better than being awake. He knocked as silently as possible on the door. No answer. He knocked again before he heard what sounded like an irritated grunt, then the sound of the wheel shutting down.  
Alex was cute when he was tired. Magnus really hoped the dark covered up the fact that he was blushing. Alex’s messy hair was pulled back in to a short ponytail, his eyebrows scrunched up in a mix of tired confusion and frustration. “Maggie, are you aware of what time it is?” He asked. Magnus managed a noise somewhere between a grunt and a yelp. Alex’s face untensed and he snorted. “Can’t get to sleep?” He asked, more gentle this time. Magnus half-nodded, eyes closing slowly only to shoot back open. Alex sighed, but he honestly didn’t look too bothered. Magnus even thought he could see a smile starting to tug on the corners of Alex’s mouth. “You’d better come in, then.” He said, guiding Magnus inside.

Alex was nose-to-nose with Magnus. How in Helheim had this happened, Magnus thought. One minute, they’d been playing a rather aggressive match of Uno. The next, Alex had tackled Magnus to the floor, red-faced and frustrated. Magnus decided it was because he had pulled a particularly dick move, and Alex wasn’t happy about it. The idea made Magnus smile, even though he was terrified and his heart was beating faster than a hummingbird’s. “What are you smiling about?” Alex demanded “I’m the one on top, here.” Magnus hesitated. “Don’t say it like that, it sounds dirty.” Alex huffed and moved off from on top of Magnus. “We’re not playing Uno. I want to play Twister.” Alex suddenly decided. Magnus imagined what Twister would be like with Alex. His whole face reddened. “Wh-what about Monopoly? Or m-maybe, uh, Chess? Yeah, Chess. Uh, anything but Twister.” He added nervously. Alex studied his expression, then smirked. “I dunno, Maggie, Twister seems like a good idea to me. What’s wrong? Are you scared of getting… Tangled?” He moved in and whispered the last word in his ear. Alex hovered there for a second, before Magnus freaked the Helheim out and pushed him away. “Chess.” He said quietly, suddenly interested in his feet. When he looked up, he knew he’d been stupid. Alex looked legitimately hurt. But Magnus couldn’t tell the difference between Alex advancing on him and Alex just being… Well, Alex. “Alex. Oh, shit. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Alex cut him off. “It’s fine, Maggie. We can play Chess. If that’s what you really want.”

Their Chess game was pretty awkward. They spent the whole game not talking. Alex won, then decided he wanted to go to bed. “Alex, I’m sorry about before…” Magnus told Alex for the fifth time, just as he had started to walk away. “Don’t worry about it, go get some shut-eye before the morning battle. It’s Thursday and I don’t want a tired teamma-“ Alex was cut off abruptly by a tight hug from Magnus. It took a second for Alex to reciprocate, but he seemed appreciative. He buried his head in Magnus’s chest. He was warm, this body heat alone would sustain Magnus for another fifty years, he thought. The hug seemed to last forever. Well, it did for Magnus at least. Alex eventually let go, though he seemed rather reluctant. Alex punched Magnus in the arm, softer than usual. “Bedtime.” He said bluntly.

Magnus did sleep, but not after thinking for a solid hour about the experience night he’d just had. Even then, his dreams seemed to be about Alex. Fantasies, memories, just Alex in general. When he woke up, Alex was at his door, tapping her foot impatiently. At least, Magnus had a feeling Alex was now a she. “You’re gonna make us late.” She said, pointing to Magnus’s closet. “Get changed. Now.” Magnus nodded tiredly. “Get out of my room, first.”

Once he was changed, Alex took his hand and practically dragged him in to the breakfast area. They arrived to stifled laughter from Mallory and T.J. “Naww, that’s cute.” Mallory teased. Only then did Magnus realize Alex was still holding his hand. He thought about pulling away, but he didn’t want a repeat of the night before, so he just let his face gradually grow redder until Alex let go. Magnus held back a sigh of relief, the burning on his cheeks stopped. Magnus coughed and changed the subject, though Mallory was still snickering. “So, um, what do you guys think the theme will be tonight?” He asked. “I don’t know, it’s always something overly silly and corny.” Mallory replied, bouncing up and down on the couch. Judging by the way she was acting, Magnus decided that Mallory had drunk one coffee too many. “Mmhm. Sometimes I really hate theme night. Mainly because theme night is also lindworm day, but I still hate theme night itself.” Alex said beside him. She turned to look at him. “Also, you have pottery lessons with me again tonight, so if you’re gonna get yourself killed, do it quickly so you won’t be late.” Magnus nodded. Alex was a really big stickler for being on time, it seemed.

One painful death by dragon and three hours of black nothingness later, Magnus was back in Alex’s room. Back on that pottery wheel, back to being a hot mess. Less so than usual because of last night’s encounter, but still enough to mess up like an idiot. In front of them was a rather shapeless lump of clay. Alex still insisted that it was enough of a pot and stuck it in the kiln. “What now?” Magnus asked. Alex looked at him like he was stupid. “What do you think happens now? We wait. Have you never used a kiln before?” She asked. Magnus shook his head. “The only time I made pottery we used air-drying clay.” He replied. Alex’s jaw dropped. “We have a lot of work to do, then.” She sighed.


	3. Cuddles in Chase's Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cutesy chapter. Very cutesy chapter. I loved writing this and I hope you guys like it too!

“You’re such a tease, Maggie. You know that right?” Alex said, gesturing to Magnus and his lack of proper pyjamas. Magnus was dressed in an oversized shirt and boxers, that was all he could be bothered to put on that night. He smirked. Alex was red-faced, eyebrows scrunched together and mouth forming a pout. “This is what you get for knocking on my door at one in the morning, Alex.” Magnus replied. Alex huffed and stomped her foot lightly. “Well, I don’t care. I’m awake now and I want cuddles.” Alex said bluntly. Magnus felt his face burn. “What?!” He squeaked. Alex grinned at him. “Don’t worry Maggie, it’d be like friend cuddles. I’m pretty sure friends do that” Alex said. “No, I’m pretty sure they don’t.” Magnus replied, his face getting hotter. Alex went back to pouting, giving Magnus the puppy dog eyes. Magnus shakily sighed. “You know what? Fine, get in here.” Magnus said. Alex shouted ‘YAY!’ A bit too loudly. “You do know if Halfborn or Mallory catch us they’ll be teasing us for weeks, right? Maybe years. Probably years.” Alex stretched and yawned. “Gonna be hella worth it. C’mon, take me to your room.” She said. Magnus rolled his eyes and led Alex to his bedroom, where she dived directly in to his sheets.

“You seem a lot less stabby this morning. More… Hyperactive. What’s gotten in to you?” Magnus said. He’d been thinking of the word ‘cutesy’ rather than hyperactive, but he stopped himself. Alex frowned at him. “Are you saying I’m not allowed to be like this, Maggie?” She asked. Magnus shook his head. “Of course not! I lo- Uh, like to see you this way too, it just feels like I’ve opened up a whole new side of Alex Fierro.” Magnus said. Alex shrugged. “You kinda have. I’m the same me I always have been. I’m just opening up to you more, I guess. Now are we gonna cuddle or not?” She said. Magnus nodded nervously, hesitating as he got under the covers. Alex got sick of waiting for Magnus to make a move, so she tugged on his arms and gently put them around her, snuggling up to his chest. They lay there calmly, even Magnus who thought his heart my burst out of his chest, until eventually they both fell asleep. That was one detail he had forgotten, if you end up cuddling with your crush and your friends find out, they will never let it go. And Magnus had forgotten Halfborn’s tendency to create wall-holes. So when Magnus woke up with an Alex attached to him and a large hairy teenager grinning at him through his wall, he knew he was done for.

He screamed, loudly. Halfborn laughed in delight. “I saw this coming! I have to tell Mallory!” He said, then his face disappeared from the hole and he sped off to tell everyone. Magnus wondered how often Halfborn puts holes in his wall. He also wondered how much the Valkyries wanted to kill him. Right now he decided what was most important was waking Alex up and getting dressed. He shook her but she just snuggled closer in to him and made a small squeak. ‘Why does she have to be so damn cute?’ Magnus thought. After about a minute, Alex woke up. She stretched, looking very content. “Mornin’, cutie.” Alex said sleepily. ‘Great’ Magnus thought ‘She’s in that just woke up phase’. Magnus now doubted it would be easy to make this look like something normal and friend-y before Mallory and T.J came to look through Halfborn’s fist-shaped hole. Halfborn had very big fists, so Magnus knew they would be able to see everything. Magnus scrambled to his cabinet and pulled on a pair of jeans. Just as he was about to pull on a fresh shirt, he heard a cough from behind him. He turned to see Mallory supressing a laugh and T.J with his hand over his mouth. Halfborn presented Magnus’s room to them like he was opening Jurassic Park to the public. “Oh. My god.” Mallory said. Alex was red-faced and suddenly seemed very focused on the crinkles in Magnus’s sheets.

He realized he was still bare-chested, and hurriedly pulled on a t-shirt. “Nice abs.” T.J said. Magnus suspected T.J was also pretty flustered, his voice had just barely shook as he talked, but otherwise seemed to hide it just fine. “Magnus” Mallory said, smirking “Is there something you and Alex would like to tell us?”. Magnus shook his head violently. “Guys this isn’t what it looks li-“ Magnus started, but he was soon interrupted by Halfborn. “Don’t lie, this is exactly what it looks like. Fierro decided it would be better to spend the night in your bed. And why is that, Alex?” Halfborn sniggered. Alex covered her face with the sheets in shame. She mumbled something in to the blankets. Halfborn moved his ear closer to the hole. “Huh, what was that? Couldn’t hear you.” He said. Alex screamed in to the blankets. Then uncovered her face. “It’s because I like him, Halfborn, you bastard.” She said. Mallory squealed in delight and punched another hole in the wall. Magnus took note not to take Mallory on in a fight, she was much scarier than Halfborn.

Magnus went through a whole flux of facial expressions. Shocked, confused, smiling, confused, smiling, shocked, shocked, smiling. It went on like that for a while until he settled with a confused smile. Much easier when you combine the two than go through the whole lot, he thought. “You like me back, Alex?” Magnus asked. Alex nodded, face in hands. Then she froze. “Wait… You like me… How I like you?” She said. “Gods, you’re both so dense!” Mallory exclaimed, though she was grinning so wide Magnus thought her face might fall off. “Of course you both like each other, it was obvious! You weren’t exactly subtle with how you act around each other.” Alex shook her head in disbelief. “All this time, you liked me back… And you didn’t ask me out! You asshole!” She accompanied those last two words with punches. They hurt. “Ow! No duh I didn’t, did you not noticed how easily flustered I can be! Plus you seem like you’re the more dominant one so you should have asked me out and- Oh my gods you actually like me back I can’t believe it, what did I do to deserve this you’re so pretty and funny and-“. He went on rambling like that for a bit longer until Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed his shoulders. “Shut up”. She said, before pulling him in to the best kiss Magnus had ever had in his life. It seemed like it would last forever, and Magnus was disappointed when she pulled later. She mouthed ‘More later’ and pointed her thumb back at the rest of the floor 19 crew. Magnus nodded, even though his heart and lips were aching for more Fierro. Mallory shook them back to reality with applause and a hearty ‘Fuck yeah!’. T.J was grinning at Magnus. Halfborn was giving them a thumbs up. Magnus’s heart was racing, he felt like he could hold up the sky. Alex got their attention with a cough. “Now, if you would all kindly get the fuck out so I can spend some quality-time with my now-boyfriend, that’d be great.” She said sharply. They all put their hands up and backed away, still smiling and whispering to each other. Once they seemed to be gone, Alex took Magnus’s in hers and nuzzled her nose against his. “You know, it kind of feels like I want to spend forever with you, Chase.” She said. “We have all the time in the world.” Magnus replied, pressing his lips back against hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ This is the last chapter, guys. I'm really sorry but I can't find any motivation to continue anything right now ;n; I will be trying to write more fics though, mainly pjoverse, but some other stuff as well :) ]


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